This take on Minted was made by undefined from , a member of Minted's community of independent artists.
For centuries art has awed, amazed, and continually evolved. It has spoken about social change, told stories of love and war, and captured moments in history that help us preserve the past. A wide variety of art mediums have produced remarkable finished works and continue to drive innovation and creativity to this day. In this guide, we will review popular art looks, techniques, and types of art mediums to help you explore what styling best speaks to you when it comes to selecting artwork for your home or office.
So what exactly is a medium in art? A “medium” can refer to the materials used to make a work of art (such as clay, wood, paint, fabric, charcoal, etc.) and also refer to creation techniques such as sculpture, printmaking, watercolor, or pottery. For the purposes of this guide, however, we will focus purely on different mediums and techniques used to create hanging wall art. We will introduce you to commonly identifiable art mediums like oil painting, fine art photography, graphic art, and watercolor to name a few.
Oil painting is the process of combining colored powders, pigments, or finely ground up materials with an oil mixture to create a solution that can be used as paint. When mixing the pigments with oil, you will get a slightly different visual result depending on the oil you use –for example, how yellow the painting looks or how long it takes to dry. Oil paintings are known to take longer to dry, which gives artists extra time to play with the look and feel. When oil painting, artists typically use paintbrushes and the occasional rag or palette knife. The most popular surface for oil painting is canvas made from either cotton or linen, stretched over a wooden frame.
Peach Poppy by Jenny Westenhofer
From a historical perspective, it is said that the oldest oil paintings were created on walls in Afghanistan in the 7th century. By the 12th century, oil painting was being used in Europe. And by the time the Renaissance exploded, oil painting was the most popular medium. Today, oil painting is still popular for a lot of different subjects and styles due to its malleability and texture. Famous artists include Vincent van Gogh (Starry Night) and Leonardo da Vinci (Mona Lisa).
Minted’s oil and acrylic collection showcases work by independent artists and celebrates this medium in art. The oil painting medium produces a broad array of work, but generally speaking, there are many landscape depictions and abstract arrangements. To give your artwork an authentic hand-made feel, consider printing your selected design on canvas. Through Minted, you can now also order framed canvas for a completed look.
Say hello to acrylic painting, the medium in art that is most often confused with oil painting. While oil paint is suspended in oil, takes a little more time to clean, and is not compatible with water, acrylic paint uses much newer pigment materials (instead of more traditional oils). Unlike oils, you don’t need any special chemicals to thin acrylics—just water will do. And while oils take a long time to dry, acrylics dry very quickly. Think of acrylic as a scientist’s adaptation and manipulation of oil painting norms.
Synthetic acrylic paint was developed in the 1940s, and by the 1950s it was made commercially available. Artists love acrylic paint because it can create the brilliance of a watercolor and the density of an oil painting. It changed the face of painting, redefining how artists worked and pieces came together. Acrylic paintings are typically completed with a variety of brushes. Famous acrylic artists include Andy Warhol (Shot Marilyns) and David Hockney (A Bigger Splash).
Check out Minted’s full assortment of acrylic art. If you’re fond of this medium, consider which room in your house you’d like to decorate and the colors from your home decor that you’d like to glean inspiration from. Acrylic paintings tend to be more colorful and vibrant. They can add an extra pop of color to your space, whether it’s your living room, bedroom, or a large piece in the hallway.
Watercolor painting is a creative method that uses pigments suspended in a water-based solution. Of all the art mediums, it allows for transparency and luminosity that other mediums don’t. Rather than painting layer over layer for the desired result (like with oil painting), watercolor is semi-transparent and the white of the paper gives a natural luminosity to watered-down paint. As an artist experiments with new colors, they must work quickly because the hues blend together quickly, seeing as how watercolor is a fast-drying medium. Many say that the spontaneity of the medium requires intense focus. The more water, the more the paper will affect the colors.
Traditionally, the most common support material for this painting technique is watercolor paper, which is made entirely of cotton. Other preferred surfaces include papyrus, bark papers, watercolor canvas, and more. For centuries, brushes of all sizes have been used for watercolor work, depending on the desired outcome of the work. Watercolor was originally an ancient form of painting in East Asia. It was used for scroll painting in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese traditions. In the 19th century, American artists began to use it as a sketching tool and the art medium grew from there.
Famous watercolor artists include Frank Webb (San Miguel Allende) and Vincent van Gogh (Fishing Boats On The Beach).
If you feel inspired by this look, browse our full assortment of limited-edition watercolor paintings. Shop designs capturing mystical nature scenes and beautiful botanical arrangements. Leverage the unusual hues and tints in our artwork to complement your home decor.
Of all the types of art mediums, mixed media can take the most forms. It is defined as artwork where more than one medium or material is used, providing intrigue, amazing interpretation, and serving as the perfect outlet for the curious mind. Some of the techniques used include collages, assemblage, and found objects (also known as trash art or punk art).
One of the most popularly used mixed media techniques is that of collage. The origin of the word “collage” is French, coming from the word “coller” which is “to glue.” This hands-on art form entails artists working with pieces of paper, photographs, and other textured items that are adhered to a supporting surface. By using a variety of forms, the artist creates a new arrangement. Famous artwork in this styling includes Made for a Party by Hannah Höch and Sphinx Month by Dolan Geiman.
The technique of assemblage takes the concept of layering a step further. Rather than creating a 2-D piece of wall art on a flat surface, a work of assemblage will have three-dimensional elements projecting out from a surface. This art styling dates back to Pablo Picasso (Still Life), who started the movement and remains the most well-known assemblage artist to date.
Lastly, “found art” is another form of mixed media, where a seemingly ordinary object is used for artistic expression because the artist sees an intrinsic interest in it. This includes everything from skulls, shells, butterflies, pieces of wood, fragments of furniture, and more. Examples could include a sculpture made from hard candy or a picture formed by layers of colored tape.
If you are fond of creative expression and unique looks, consider hanging mixed media wall art in your home for an instant conversation starter.
Photography has been called, in as many words, a universal language. But just how does photography work? Photographs are created by recording light electronically through an image sensor or chemically through something like photographic film. Through an artist’s eye, the most ordinary scene can become an extraordinary visual. In the 1820s, the first photographs were created by a French inventor named Nicéphore Niépce. He died shortly thereafter and other artists across Europe continued to develop the art form.
Today, photography is used in many ways, such as for business, art and film production, recreational purposes, and historical recordings. There are many different styles of fine art photography that span different subject matters like landscapes, wildlife, architecture, and human portraits. Below we have outlined a few popular photography themes when it comes to wall art.
In Minted’s photography collection, you’ll find limited edition snapshots capturing countless subject matters and techniques. Artists creatively play with focus, aperture, light, and shadow to create a hypnotizing end result.
Charcoal is often used by artists to create sketch drawings. When looking at the various types of art mediums, this one tends to be the rawest, as it does not require mixing colored pigments or using multiple tools. Charcoals are often used by artists for their versatile properties, like the rough texture they leave, how it’s easily removable, and vulnerable to leaving stains on the paper. An adaptation of charcoal sketches is pencil drawings or ink drawings.
Charcoal was one of the first tools humans used to make artwork, appearing in caves dating back 28,000 years. During the Renaissance, charcoal was often used to create rough sketches to prepare for a painting. Charcoal’s range of use also made it the perfect medium for works like Da Vinci’s Study of a Woman’s Hands. Other artists who have employed charcoal are Georgia O’Keeffe (Drawing XIII) and Henri Matisse (Music (Sketch)). The simple black and white color tones in sketch art allow you to focus on each line and curve created.
Among the types of mediums, we also have graphic art. Used for a wide variety of expressions, it refers to printmaking styles, typography, pattern arrangements, and computer-manipulated design. Graphic art is created by hand or on a computer and tends to look very two-dimensional yet modern. Some designs will have you second-guessing if a human hand created the work.
As early as 2500 BC, the Egyptians used graphic symbols to communicate through hieroglyphics. During the middle ages, scribes copied pages of manuscripts to maintain sacred teachings. And then in 1450, the first printing press was created and facilitated the mass-production of text and graphic art. Fast forward to the Industrial Revolution and posters became a popular form of graphic art used to communicate news and advertise products. In the modern age, examples of graphic design and art are used on album covers, movie posters, subway maps, and wall art.
Add a flair of modern styling to a downtown loft with a piece of graphic art or two. Shop Minted’s collection and alter the color combinations on some of our designs to perfectly match a pre-existing color theme present in your home decor.
If you’re asking yourself what types of art mediums are best for your home or office, the answer lies in your personal styling tastes. Just like we all prefer different movie genres, like action, drama, sci-fi, comedy, or documentary, there are different art forms that appeal to everyone. For those that find beauty in precise representations, decorating your walls with photography or sketch art depicting real-world scenes makes the most sense. For those who love a more whimsical representation of things, consider watercolor or mixed media that blends numerous techniques. If you appreciate a simple/minimalist style, consider a pencil drawing not overly complex with color and distracting detail. With all of this information in hand, think about what you enjoy most about each medium and what really speaks to you as you decorate your home!
Image source: Instagram
Styling your home with unique wall decor is often easier said than done. Read more.
What you need to know about color when selecting artwork for your home. Read more.
This art styling consists of works arranged on different panels or surfaces intended to be displayed together. Read more.
We uncover design genius through ongoing design competitions. At Minted, all that matters is good design. Designers submit, and the Minted community votes to tell us what to sell.
